Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.26 and last traded at $26.47, with a volume of 3525287 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.21 and a 200-day moving average of $33.46.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 44.61%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,846,000. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Murphy Oil by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 25,179 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 14,233 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $678,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 904,449 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,369,000 after acquiring an additional 116,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.